What belongs in a single-source note

Single-source purchases are sometimes legitimate. Committees still expect a signed note that explains the exception without theatre.

Keep to four paragraphs

1. What is being bought — item or service, quantity, and period.
2. Why competition was not run — proprietary interface, emergency continuity, existing competed framework, or another reason your policy already names.
3. How price reasonableness was tested — prior purchase history, benchmark, or independent estimate.
4. Who accepts residual risk — named role, not a department nickname.

Phrases that weaken the note

Avoid claiming urgency without a date that makes delay harmful. Avoid praising the supplier’s brand. Avoid copying marketing language from the quote cover letter.

If your policy forbids single-source above a threshold, say so plainly and stop — no audit memo can invent authority the matrix does not grant.

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